#31 Shailin Saraiya: Leading Global Engineering Teams at Roku with AI, Culture, and Impact

Shailin Saraiya, Sr. Engineering Manager at Roku, joins us to explore what it really takes to lead globally distributed engineering teams at scale. With over a decade of experience at Roku, Sony, and more, Shailin shares how he manages time zone complexity, builds a unified culture, and ensures product quality with AI-driven systems.

We dive into his leadership philosophy, hiring practices across regions, and how his globally diverse teams have shipped high-impact features like the Media QC Platform. From building scalable systems for millions of users to creating safe spaces for communication and collaboration, Shailin offers real, actionable insights.

We also talk about the power of demos, OKRs, and coaching local leaders to scale sustainably—and how AI and ML are transforming content workflows at Roku.

Learn more about Shailin:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/shailinsaraiya/

About Federico Ramallo:

Software Engineering Manager | Founder of DensityLabs.io & PreVetted.ai | Connecting U.S. teams with top nearshore LATAM engineers.

- 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/framallo/

- 🌐 https://densitylabs.io

- ✅ https://prevetted.ai

PreVetted Podcast:

- 🎙 https://prevetted.ai/podcast

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction to Global Team Management

01:30 Challenges of Time Zone Overlap

02:58 Building a Unified Team Culture

05:02 Navigating Cultural Communication Styles

09:54 Hiring for Global Teams

17:12 Facilitating Seamless Collaboration Across Time Zones

26:18 Evolving Leadership Styles in Global Teams

27:02 The Importance of Context in Communication

31:45 Building Local Leaders and Trust

38:19 Aligning and Motivating a Global Team

42:58 The Impact of Managing Global Teams

47:55 Advice for Scaling Teams Internationally

49:06 Leveraging AI in Content Management